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T10 WHATS UP! December 15 - 21, 2019 "Bless the Harts" is the baby of Fox's Animation Domina- tion time block. The show's first Christmas special is only its ninth episode overall, and having to follow a series with 672 episodes (and a movie) under its belt might seem dif- ficult if it weren't for how much heart "Bless the Harts" has shown throughout its freshman season, particularly in the way it has chosen to avoid tropes associated with low-income families, a catego- ry that the Harts fall into. Rather than having a dead- beat, alcoholic (or worse) boy- friend, Jenny (voiced by Kris- ten Wiig of "Saturday Night Live" fame) has Wayne (Ike Barinholtz, "The Mindy Proj- ect"), who certainly won't be winning any awards for book smarts, but who wants nothing more than to care for her and her family. In "Miracle on Cul- pepper Slims Boulevard," the show's creator, Emily Spivey, voices Louise, Jenny's boss at the restaurant. Louise invites the Hart family to her annual Christmas party, but after see- ing the extravagance of Lou- ise's home, Jenny begins to feel insecure about the kind of holiday she is able to provide for her own family, and her mother, Betty (Maya Rudolph, "The Good Place"), tries to fo- cus on how she can stick to a budget but also "win" at Christmas gift-giving. It's hard to believe "Bob's Burgers" is already in its 10th season (with a movie set to premiere next year), especially since the writers have been able to keep each episode as fresh and funny as the first. In "Have Yourself A Maily Linda Christmas," the Belcher matri- arch, Linda (hilariously voiced by comedian John Roberts, who based his performance on his own mother), wants some extra spending money for the holidays, so she gets a temp job at a post office. However, Linda discovers an undelivered pack- age and ends up going a little off-book to ensure it reaches its intended destination. While mom is out saving the day, Bob (H. Jon Benjamin, "Archer") and Tina (Dan Mintz, "Adventure Time") end up stuck at home with her dif- ficult parents. The younger kids, Gene (Eugene Mirman, who also voices a main char- acter in "Archer") and Louise (Kristen Schaal, "The Last Man on Earth"), are scram- bling at the last minute to find the perfect gift for their eccen- tric older sister. Megan Mul- lally ("Will and Grace") re- turns as Linda's neurotic sister Gayle, and Tim Meadows ("Schooled") is back as reluc- tant mailman Mike Wobbles. Fox has been most secretive about the plot of the new "Fam- ily Guy" holiday special, "Christmas is Coming." All we know so far is that Meg (Mila Kunis, "The Spy Who Dumped Me," 2018) is going to take Stewie (series writer and cre- ator Seth MacFarlane, who also voices Peter and Brian) to the mall to meet Santa, which ends up traumatizing poor Stewie so badly that Brian needs to help him process the experience. If you were breathing at any point during the past 10 years, you should recognize the "Game of Thrones" reference in this episode title, a spin on the Stark family slogan "Winter is Coming." "The Simpsons" signals the beginning of family festivities on Sunday, Dec. 15, on Fox. The slew of animated Christ- mas specials from "Bless the Harts," "Bob's Burgers" and "Family Guy" are sure to have you and yours heading to bed with a belly full of cheer and a boost in holiday spirit. Jenny, Wayne, Betty and Violet from "Bless the Harts" continued from page T2 Fox's Four Funniest Families: 'The Simpsons,' 'Bless the Harts,' 'Bob's Burgers' and 'Family Guy' air Christmas Specials TV FEATURE